The addition of Barbie sparked mixed reaction among readers, parents, Barbie fans and more. DiDonato, who made her second appearance in this year’s issue, said she thought it was perfect though she hadn’t heard about it until the issue launched.

“It makes sense though,” she told For The Win. “Barbie is an iconic beautiful woman in a swimsuit and Barbie has been around forever and (the SI Swimsuit edition) had been around for 50 years and it works totally.”

DiDonato said she didn’t grow up reading the magazine but said she did grow up playing roller hockey, basketball, soccer and lacrosse.

A photo posted by emilydidonato1 (@emilydidonato1) on Feb 13, 2014 at 4:58pm PST

“After I started modeling I couldn’t really continue with that but if I could play sports in an organized fashion I would,” she said.

And while she might have not flipped through the pages of the sports section as a kid, she was more than thrilled when SI Swimsuit editor MJ Day called her after her first casting more than two years ago. She remembers sitting near Union Square in New York City and eating a salad when she got the call.

When Emily DiDonato opened the pages of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, she found herself alongside some of the world’s (…)

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